Ezekiel 16:52
in Ezekiel 16So now you must bear your disgrace, since you have brought justification for your sisters. For they appear more righteous than you, because your sins were more vile than theirs. So you too must bear your shame and disgrace, since you have made your sisters appear righteous.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thou also, bear thou thine own shame, in that thou hast given judgment for thy sisters; through thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they, they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou also confounded, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.
KJV
Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.
⋯
This verse in Ezekiel 16
Commentary
12 notes on this verseThe second tablet after the shipwreck is to be ashamed when you have sinned, and not to subject yourself to the reproach that is said against Jerusalem: You have become like a prostitute, you do not know how to blush (Jeremiah III, 3). But he carries his own torture, who is tormented by his own conscience, and in this world endures torment by his own will, lest he endure eternal torments.
This site's exposition
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom
on Ezekiel 16:49-52
Sodom's sin is defined here as pride, excess and idleness, and the neglect of the poor and needy, a description read across church history as the root beneath the city's better known sin. Fairbairn reads the naming as pastoral, refusing to let readers reduce Sodom to one act while Jerusalem is charged with the same root plus far more on top of it. The demand that Jerusalem bear her own shame closes the comparison, her sisters now looking righteous by contrast.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
O you who are subject to pain, do not go into exile with mourning.
It is an infamy to be separated from the people of God and from the church; it is a dishonor in the church to leave the bench of presbyters, to be expelled from the rank of the diaconate.
If we justify providence, we cleanse our disgrace; but if we do not receive the judgments of God, we will multiply our disgrace.
The more we come very near to God the more we come near the beatitude; and when we have sinned, we shall be far from it and very near terrible and very great punishments.
(Verse 52.) So you also bring your own confusion, having surpassed your sisters in your sins, acting more wickedly than them ((Other version: against them)): for they have been justified by you. Septuagint: And you will bear your torment because you have corrupted your sisters in your sins, in which you have acted unjustly against them, and you have justified them against yourself. The second tablet after the shipwreck is to be ashamed when you have sinned, and not to subject yourself to the reproach that is said against Jerusalem: You have become like a prostitute, you do not know how to blush (Jeremiah III, 3). But he carries his own torture, who is tormented by his own conscience, and in this world endures torment by his own will, lest he endure eternal torments (Genesis IV). And we corrupt our brothers and sisters through our sins, when they are provoked to greater crimes by our own sins. What I say will become clearer: Imagine someone in a priestly position not living well, and dishonoring their dignity with their actions. Surely by imitating his vices, the lay brother is corrupted? For even he who scandalizes one of the least of these, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and be thrown into the depths (Matthew XVIII, 6). Likewise, the sisters of Jerusalem are justified like Sodom and Samaria, not because they are inherently righteous, but as we said, by comparison with the worse. So you will also be confounded; and your own shame, which you have justified, will become your gate. Seventy: So you will also be confounded, and you will bear your shame, because you have justified your sisters. Confusion follows shame: shame correction: correction consolation: consolation salvation: according to that of the Apostle: Tribulation works patience: patience provenance: provenance hope: but hope does not confound (Rom. V, 3-5). […]
5 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers2 voices
It is one thing to have an action set forth as praiseworthy in itself and another to have it extolled in comparison with something worse than itself. We rejoice in one way when a sick person is cured and in another when he improves a little. Even in the sacred Scriptures, Sodom is spoken of as justified in comparison with the crimes of the people of Israel.
The person who is "very small" deserves mercy more quickly.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Thou also which hast judged thy sisters,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
They are more righteous than thou - תצדקנה ממך tetsuddaknah mimmech, “They shall be justified more than thou.” They are less guilty in the sight of God, for their crimes were not accompanied with so many aggravations. This phrase casts light on Luk 18:14: “This man went down to his house justified rather than the other.” Less blame in the sight of God was attached to him. He always had fewer advantages, and now he was a true penitent; while the other was boasting of what he had done, and what he had not done.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Thou . . . which hast judged . . . bear thine own-- (Mt 7:1, 2; Judah had judged Sodom (representing "the heathen nations") and Samaria (Israel), saying they were justly punished, as if she herself was innocent (Lu 13:2). thy shame--ignominious punishment.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| גַּם־ | gam- | also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| אַ֣תְּ׀ | ʾat | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| שְׂאִ֣י | sei | bear | H5375 → | 656 times |
| כְלִמָּתֵ֗ךְ | khelimatekh | disgrace your | H3639 → | 30 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֤ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| פִּלַּלְתְּ֙ | pilalt | you have mediated | H6419 → | |
| לַֽאֲחוֹתֵ֔ךְ | laachotekh | for sister your | H269 → | 114 times |
| בְּחַטֹּאתַ֛יִךְ | bechatotayikh | by sins your | H2403 → | 295 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הִתְעַ֥בְתְּ | hitavt | you have acted abominably | H8581 → | |
| מֵהֵ֖ן | mehen | more than them | ||
| תִּצְדַּ֣קְנָה | titzdaknah | they are righteous | H6663 → | 41 times |
| מִמֵּ֑ךְ | mimekh | more than you | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| וְגַם־ | vegam- | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| אַ֥תְּ | ʾat | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| בּ֙וֹשִׁי֙ | boshi | be ashamed | H954 → | 127 times |
| וּשְׂאִ֣י | usei | and bear | H5375 → | 656 times |
| כְלִמָּתֵ֔ךְ | khelimatekh | disgrace your | H3639 → | 30 times |
| בְּצַדֶּקְתֵּ֖ךְ | betzadektekh | because have made appear righteous you | H6663 → | 41 times |
| אַחְיוֹתֵֽךְ׃ | ʾachyotekh | sisters your | H269 → | 114 times |
גַּם־also
gam-H1571 →769 times
אַ֣תְּ׀you
ʾatH859 →1094 times
שְׂאִ֣יbear
seiH5375 →656 times
כְלִמָּתֵ֗ךְdisgrace your
khelimatekhH3639 →30 times
אֲשֶׁ֤רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
פִּלַּלְתְּ֙you have mediated
pilaltH6419 →
לַֽאֲחוֹתֵ֔ךְfor sister your
laachotekhH269 →114 times
בְּחַטֹּאתַ֛יִךְby sins your
bechatotayikhH2403 →295 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
הִתְעַ֥בְתְּyou have acted abominably
hitavtH8581 →
מֵהֵ֖ןmore than them
mehen
תִּצְדַּ֣קְנָהthey are righteous
titzdaknahH6663 →41 times
מִמֵּ֑ךְmore than you
mimekhH4480 →1188 times
וְגַם־and also
vegam-H1571 →769 times
אַ֥תְּyou
ʾatH859 →1094 times
בּ֙וֹשִׁי֙be ashamed
boshiH954 →127 times
וּשְׂאִ֣יand bear
useiH5375 →656 times
כְלִמָּתֵ֔ךְdisgrace your
khelimatekhH3639 →30 times
בְּצַדֶּקְתֵּ֖ךְbecause have made appear righteous you
betzadektekhH6663 →41 times
אַחְיוֹתֵֽךְ׃sisters your
ʾachyotekhH269 →114 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 36:15I will no longer allow the taunts of the nations to be heard against you, and you will no longer endure the reproach of the peoples or cause your nation to stumble, declares the…
it leads to
- Psalms 89:50
Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants, which I bear in my heart from so many people—
- Ezekiel 34:29
And I will raise up for them a garden of renown, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land or bear the scorn of the nations.
- Isaiah 54:4
Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; do not be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated. For you will forget the shame of your youth and will remember…
- Ezekiel 36:6
Therefore, prophesy concerning the land of Israel and tell the mountains and hills, the ravines and valleys, that this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I have spoken in My burning zeal because…
- Isaiah 60:14
The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy…
- Psalms 89:50
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, On Lying 5:7; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 10:1; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 10:2 and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.